I’m sure you’ve noticed that I haven’t been blogging much at all lately. I’ll give a short/sweet explanation as to why. I woke up several months ago having serious questions about how I want to utilize my time with my children, my husband and my community here in the South Florida area. After prayer and soul-searching, I decided this blog isn’t where I’d like to spend the majority of my time. I love doing it, but there are other pressing areas that need my attention.

Forming close relationships with our neighbors, homeschooling our 3 children, investing in my marriage, being actively involved in our new church home, getting myself healthy again, and much more (in no specific order).

I’ve been the happiest I’ve ever been the last 6 months and while I hope to add a few more posts here, I won’t be using the blog for income or trying to get more followers. I just don’t care about those things anymore and that’s ok…..(though I FULLY support bloggers and all of the time they invest in theirs to earn incomes! YOU GO!)

Thank you for being so supportive and following along. <3

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As the holidays quickly approach, I’m always on the hunt for crafts our family can make as meaningful/useful gifts that are budget-friendly. I’m a huge make-up lover, as are most of the special women in my life. We all love a really great lip balm so I decided to search for recipes easy enough for the children to make. I was very surprised at how easy this recipe was to follow and how well they turned out.

I am teaching the kids how to make these as this will give them a way to make their own special gifts without spending a fortune. My only “warning” is to help them understand that they’re working with hot, melted wax similar to candles and if they get some on their skin, they need to wipe it off quickly so as not to burn. It’ll also help them see that companies add unnecessary chemicals to products for various reasons.

1 Cup Oil of your choice: I advice staying away from Coconut Oil as the smell is hard to cover up unless that’s the smell you’re going for. I like to use Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil

Sliver off your own lipsticks: OPTIONAL: This is only to add color if you like.

Vitamin E capsules: OPTIONAL: you can prick with a needle and add to the other oil of your choice in the recipe

This recipe makes about 24 lip balms.

Place oil and beeswax into a microwave-safe dish. Microwave for 1 minute and take out to stir well.

Then microwave another 45 seconds and continue stirring until beeswax is completely melted.

I like to make 3 flavors (watermelon, peppermint, and strawberry) out of this recipe so in 3 dishes, put your candy flavoring and lipstick slivers into the bowls. Evenly distribute oil mixture to the 3 bowls. STIR WELL! You may have to microwave them again for about 25 seconds while you’re getting everything mixed completely. These set very quickly so you have to work fast.

Now you’ll spoon small amounts into each container and leave open to cool/set (about 20 minutes).

That’s it! It takes me about 45 minutes from start to finish! It’s super easy, saves money, and you don’t have to worry about what’s in your product since you made it yourself. These make fantastic holiday gifts for women of ANY age. Even though there is some color, it shows up completely clear on the lips! I allow our 5 year old to wear it since it’s clear. She LOVES these!

When it’s time for Christmas, I’ll make labels for each one and glue them to the lids. Leave your pics below so I can see what you create!

If you like this idea, feel free to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss other great ones I create!

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September 4, 2017 is a day my family won’t soon forget. EVERY forecast on the weather had a Category 5 Hurricane named Irma headed straight for my house. Category 5, y’all, is a catastrophic storm that there’s really little preparing for. Yes put up the metal shutters on your windows, bring everything inside but honestly, be prepared to lose everything. That is exactly what the news anchors were saying (and don’t blame them for over-playing the warning….they were exactly right to do so).

I have never been so afraid in my life knowing this storm was forecasted to literally come directly over my home. So, like a good Navy wife, I started packing 2 days before everyone else ’cause Momma didn’t raise no fool. I am going to teach you how to pack like I did so you can leave your home behind knowing you have EVERYTHING you’ll need to make it through this type of emergency. Planning ahead for something like this will save you tons of money and stress!

The first thing I need to say is FOR THE LOVE get your necessities taken care of like homeowners/renters insurance, flood insurance and, if you live on the coast, hurricane insurance. You CAN NOT buy these things once a tropical storm has been named. PLEASE get these purchased before-hand. NOW!

Hurricane insurance has been a LIFE-SAVER for our family: they pay your hotel/gas/food expenses if you have to evacuate. Y’all. This is HUGE!! If you qualify, I highly recommend USAA. They are the absolutely BEST and really take care of military families. They have given us $3,000 straight to our account to pay for our hotel, gas, eating out, and the food we lost in our freezers/refrigerator.

Also, call 2 days ahead and reserve a hotel room in case you don’t have friends/family nearby. Hotels WILL fill up fast and you can always cancel.

Call your credit card company/bank and let them know you’ll be traveling so they don’t freeze your cards. Yes this can happen and it stinks!

Okay now for the emergency kit list you’re going to take with you. Print the free list here: CLICK HERE TO PRINT

All vital documents like birth cert/adoption decrees, proof of home insurance, social security cards, passports, etc. You need the documents that prove who you are and what you own.

A video or pics of your items in your home. This will help prove your inventory to your insurance company. Include your vehicles.

Water (LOTS OF IT)

Canned foods with pop tops (no need for can opener) and boxed snacks

Plastic utensils and paper bowls

First aid kit

Gas up your car EARLY! Shortage of gas was the #1 issue for people trying to leave the state of Florida.

Enough clothes to last everyone 1 week. You may be away from your home for a month so you’ll need to plan to do laundry somewhere. I also packed $20 worth of quarters and detergent packets/dryer sheets for the hotel. This was a LIFE SAVER FOR US!

Board games/cards/books for the children in case power goes out at the hotel (it did for us) and they will be bored.

Homeschool books that are expensive. I didn’t pack everything…just the main books and records I couldn’t replace easily.

Med’s. Look, Murphy’s Law says if something bad is going to happen, it’s going to happen to you, so someone WILL get sick during an emergency. So, I packed antihistamines (our kids have LOTS of allergies), anti-inflammatories, fever reducers, cough meds and more. I do NOT want to run to Walmart for 1 item I could’ve easily packed. Yes, our Libby did get sick.

Toiletries to last you 1.5 weeks like shampoo, body wash, tampons, diapers, wipes. Contacts, glasses, retainers, etc. You may not have access to a store if roads are down due to trees/flooding.

Bible

CASH!! If power is out in the town, card readers will not work. GET CASH!!!

Toilet Paper

Hand sanitizer (our family ONLY uses this in emergencies so it’ll actually work).

I know this looks like a long list, but having JUST lived though this, I will tell you I used EVERYTHING on it at some point and was so thankful I packed it. You just have to trust me. Again, don’t wait until disaster is on you to get some of these things together. I have a Family Binder I keep all of our documents in so that when it’s time to leave, I simply grab it and go. One less thing to worry about.

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In case some of y’all don’t know, my family lives in South Florida and we’ve evacuated away due to Hurricane Irma. I had to drive the children and I 8 hours north just to find a safe spot to hunker down. Before I left, we put the metal shutters on the windows and secured as much as we possibly could. My husband filled the freezer with lots of containers of water. He is in the military and is required to stay behind.

I plan to be here in Georgia for at least a week depending on the damage this storm does. My entire family is up the entire east coast so it’s extremely worrisome. I’m in a hotel 8 hours from home, my husband is staying with the other military personnel in the middle of this thing, my twin sister and Dad/brother are all on the east coast along with so many people I love.

BUT, I know God is in control. I know He has our best interest at heart. That being said, at times, He does allow us to experience pain/suffering for our benefit to grow our faith in Him AND so that we may love others well when they are suffering. I’m not being trite. I KNOW the destruction this storm carries. We nearly lost our family home during Hurricane Hugo that slammed Charleston, SC years ago. I say all of this because I want you to know my heart. I am a follower of Christ so I trust Him completely but I’m also human prone to fear. Please pray for us during this time along with everyone in the Caribbean and east coast.

Years ago, Adam and I worked very hard to become debt-free and have stayed that way. We have some savings and because of that, we were able to safely get the children and I out of Miami into a hotel for a week without causing financial stress. I HIGHLY recommend y’all keep working hard to get out of debt, save your pennies for such crises as this. We were able to buy extra food and water because of our savings account. After this is over, I will be writing more posts about how to become debt-free, save for emergencies and plan for times with Murphy visits (you know, Murphy’s Law that if something bad CAN happen, it WILL).

Thank you for checking on me, asking about how we are and for being such wonderful readers of the blog. Because of you, we were able to purchase a MUCH-NEEDED freezer that will provide my husband water during this awful storm. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

For those in the path: stay safe, hunker down, and remember that stuff can be replaced but your lives can not.

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If you are residing anywhere near the Houston area that’s been ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, know that I am diligently praying for you. You are so loved and never forgotten. Last year, my hometown of Lumberton, NC experienced the same devastation. It was just awful. I know you’re hurting and maybe even scared. God has not forgotten you either. He’s right there in the middle of this literal storm. He knows your feelings and your fears. Go to Him and lean on Him. People are on their way to help!

With this in mind, instead of doing my weekly give-away tomorrow, I will be using my skills in sewing to make items I can donate later to those that lost so much. I know to wait until the immediate needs of food, clothing and shelter have been met before mailing anything out. But it’s fun to sew these items and pray over each recipient. I hope you’ll find a way to also use your gifts/talents/time/resources to reach out and help! Together, we can send HOPE after Harvey!

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